Victims' families demand lifting of French defense secrecy

Families of victims from various historical cases, including the 1987 assassination of Thomas Sankara and his companions in Ouagadougou, are calling for the lifting of 'secret défense' in France. The collective, which includes relatives of those killed in incidents such as the 1961 massacre of Algerians in Paris and the deaths of Mehdi Ben Barka and Robert Boulin, argues that classified archives hinder the pursuit of justice and accountability.

Members of the collective state that access to archives is a fundamental democratic right. They contend that the French executive branch maintains too much discretion over declassification, creating obstacles to establishing the truth regarding the role of the state in these historical events. The group is advocating for greater institutional accountability and an end to the use of state secrecy to obscure government or police responsibilities.